Arts and Entertainment

New Community Gallery opening at Penn State Lehigh Valley

Inaugural exhibition features students from local high school

A portrait titled "Coffee Me" shows a young woman painted using coffee. The artist, Taisha Rodriguez, is a senior at William Allen High School in Allentown. This is just one of the pieces that will be displayed in the new Community Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley.  Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Penn State Lehigh Valley is unveiling a new Community Gallery on campus to showcase art from the community. It is sponsored by Penn State Lehigh Valley to encourage and support area artists.

The Community Gallery will highlight artists in the region, specifically area high school and college students. It will be located on the third floor on the west wing of the building, which has been renovated with new wall treatments and lighting to accommodate the new gallery and is located adjacent to the Ronald K De Long Gallery.

“The Ronald K. De Long Gallery has been very successful and this new Community Gallery gives us another venue to highlight students and other community artists who don’t have as many opportunities to showcase their work,” said Ann Lalik, gallery director and arts coordinator at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

Area high school and college students will be invited through their art departments to submit work for exhibits. The Community Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley will be thematic and scheduled in conjunction with the Ronald K. De Long Gallery exhibits.

The inaugural exhibition, “Faces of the Lehigh Valley” features student work from Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Moravian Academy, Parkland High School, Southern Lehigh High School and William Allen High School. The theme of this exhibition focuses on portraiture and is being shown alongside the exhibition, "Sacred Sisters, A Collaborative: Holly Brigham and Marilyn Nelson," in the Ronald K. De Long Gallery.

A special reception to open the new Community Gallery and its inaugural exhibit will be held from 5-7 p.m., with a welcome and dedication at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 21 at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

The reception is free and open to the public. This inaugural exhibit runs from March 15 to April 29, 2016.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday.  For more information, contact Ann Lalik at annlalik@psu.edu or 610-285-5261 or visit the Art Exhibition website.

Last Updated March 15, 2016